1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally, to an external input system and method thereof, and more particularly, to a dongle that supports external input means that users are familiar with that can easily be applied to various types of electronic devices, a method for operating external input means, and an external input system that includes the dongle.
2. Description of the Related Art
A dongle is piece of hardware that attaches to a computer. Some types of dongles may include a portable USB flash drive. The term “dongle” was previously used to refer to devices used for the authentication of computer software. However, the term “dongle” currently refers to various small pieces of hardware that attach to an electronic device and support a particular function of the device.
A dongle may include a number of components, such as a communication modem for supporting wireless communication, memory for storing data, and a central processing unit for controlling the built-in communication modem, the access to memory, and the use of memory. A dongle may receive electric power supplied from a host to which the dongle plugs into, instead of receiving power supplied from a battery installed in the dongle. In order to plug into a host, a dongle includes an interface, such as a standard Universal Serial Bus (USB) connector.
Conventional dongles are disadvantageous in that they are merely applied to electronic devices with a standard USB connector. In addition, since dongles only support a particular communication function as a secondary function, various functions of dongles must be developed in order to provide user convenience.